Prophecy & Change Book Four: Unity
by thew40
Summary: [COMPLETE] The quests of He-Man, She-Ra, SeaHawk, and Teela come together as the final stand against the Spirit of Evil unfolds! Please R&R!
1. ReGroup

Note: This is a sequeal to "Masters of the Universe: The Crossroads of Destiny" and "Masters of the Universe: Prophecy & Change - Book One: Abyss" and "Book Two: Sundered." For better understanding, it is best if you read it before continuing this. If you did not, here is a run down of what has happened.

Previously:

"The Crossroads of Destiny - Books One - Four"

After being freed from his ageless prison, King Hiss and a few of his most elite Snake Men sought to restore the Great Towers. With the help of Skeletor, they did so. But in an ensuing battle, in which He-Man and Eternos took control of the Towers, a war was sparked between Hiss and his ancient foe, Hordak. This war spread across Eternia and Etheria and forever changed the shape of history. In the aftermath of the war, Skeletor stepped forward and took control of Castle Grayskull. He was stopped, thanks to He-Man and his allies. But there was no peace yet, for a being known as the Dark Cloud sensed Grayskull's vulnerability and went after it. Teela, who had received visions of her destiny, took claim to the Sword of the Ancients and used it to stop the Dark Cloud. She then confessed her feelings of deep love to He-Man after the battle was won, but he rebuked her, claiming that he could not endanger her life by having a relationship. In truth, however, it was because she had broken his heart earlier as Prince Adam.

"Prophecy & Change - Books One - Three"

Hardly a year after the events in "The Crossroads of Destiny," a series of bizarre and unnerving events led the Heroic Warriors of Eternia to believe that the Ancient known as Procrustus was in terrible danger. Procrustus, who resided in the center of Eternia, held the world together by hanging onto the Light and Dark Hemispheres. His attacker was the Spirit of Evil. A band of Heroic Warriors stood against the Spirit of Evil, but it managed to take the Sword of the Ancients from Teela and used it to kill Procrustus. The Spirit of Evil took Procrustus' place and transformed the Light Hemisphere into a duplicate Dark Hemisphere. This transformation affected the minds of all natural Eternians currently on the planet. The aliens, however, were unaffected. Queen Marlena and Orko fled to Castle Grayskull - the only safe haven on Eternia - while Rokkon and Stonedar left the planet to find Zodac. The now-evil Heroic Warriors were sent to claim Grayskull, but She-Ra and the Great Rebellion clashed with them in Grayskull's defense. In the end, Teela, He-Man, and Battle-Cat were all freed from the hold of the Spirit of Evil. He-Man went searching for Ancient of the Phoenix - the one known as LifeDeath. She told He-Man that he must find all of the Ancients in order to defeat the Spirit of Evil. At the same time, She-Ra became a surrogate mother to the reborn Procrustus and would carry him for eight to ten days. Meanwhile, Skeletor gathered a huge army and sought to destroy Eternos. Randor, made mad by the Spirit of Evil, was removed from the throne. The former King Miro took control, hoping that his mind (which was not affected by the Spirit of Evil) would find better ways to win this day. But Skeletor was betrayed by King Hiss, who gave him to Hordak as a peace offering.

He-Man's quest goes unfulfilled. He still has six more Ancients to find. She-Ra is swiftly approaching her due date. And the last defense of Eternos is about to fall . . .

Chapter One

"Re-Grouping"

The portal opened and Skeletor was thrown forward. His limbs felt numb, but the rest of him was in pain. So much pain. His body felt on fire, the bite marks from King Hiss looked like their smoking with his acidic poison. He could barely see anything, every seemed to fade in and out in front.

But there was one thing - or person, rather - that was quite prominent. Hordak stood above him, a wicked smile across his pale, bat-like face. Somewhere in his burning mind, Skeletor knew then that he would have to kill him for that smile.

"Give him just enough anti-toxin to keep him alive," Hordak said to someone . . . maybe it was Modulock? Skeletor couldn't tell.

Gasping, Skeletor lifted his sore hand, and reached out towards Hordak. "Kill you . . ." he barely whispered.

Hordak began to laugh hysterically. "I don't think so, my old friend."

His boot smashed across Skeletor's skull, sending the master of Snake Mountain into unconsciousness.

***

Blood stained the ground of Eternia. There was no corner of the former Light Hemisphere that did not know conflict. The Vine Jungle and the Evergreen Forest had become stages for battles between the Cats and the Bears and the Cave-People and the Tree-People. In the Mystic Mountains, the Avions and the Insectiods were launching attacks and counter-attacks against each other.

Never before in recorded history had Eternia known such violence and bloodshed. And it was getting worse. The death toll was growing ever higher and higher. Injured soldiers were becoming a commonplace thing for the regular citizens. Anger, fear, and violence replaced joy, happiness, and peace.

Eternia was starting to smell of death.

He-Man stood at the edge of the western coast of the Harmony Sea, eyes gazing upon the watery horizon. He stared at the object that came ever closer to the docks.

Teela, who stood behind him, leaning on her snake-head staff, stared as well. She didn't like She-Ra, not at all. She had, since the first they met her, sensed a bond between He-Man and She-Ra that she did not care for. Teela respected She-Ra and knew of her role in this plan - but still. Every smile and every wink that passed between She-Ra and He-Man was like She-Ra was stomping her super-powered boots onto Teela's last nerves.

"They're here," He-Man said, and Teela trailed behind the hero as they walked along the dock towards the boat. The sun was dawning on this, the eighth day.

Teela expected to see She-Ra with her shining blond hair bouncing around her cute, perky face, with that golden tiara sitting atop her brow.

But what she really saw . . . surprised the young Captain of the Royal Guard.

SeaHawk helped She-Ra off the boat, and as she came WADDLING down the dock, Teela's jaw dropped. She-Ra's belly was huge, stretching hard against the white dress and the golden pattern on it. She had gained a little baby fat in her arms and legs, and her face seemed a tad bit bigger. Her hair was tied back in a shabby ponytail. The sporting, red cape was gone - slung over a duffel bag that SeaHawk carried with him. Despite a smile, it looked like She-Ra was under a lot of strain.

Which was odd for Teela to see, considering just how strong She-Ra was.

It was then, in that moment, that Teela gained new respect for She-Ra. It wasn't a huge amount of new respect, but a higher respect than she had before.

"So . . ." said SeaHawk, a duffel bag over his shoulder. "Here we are. A pirate, a pregnant heroine, a captain without her army, and a super-hero on an incomplete quest. When does the fun start?"

He-Man smiled at the captain. "Soon."

"What needs to be done?" huffed She-Ra, hands on her back.

"I haven't finished assembling all of the Ancients yet," He-Man replied. "Good, Evil, Intrepid, Forge, Unity, and Master all remain for me to collect."

"Can you get them by tomorrow evening?"

He-Man nodded, confident in his answer. "Yes."

"Thank the First Ones," She-Ra breathed. "What are we supposed to be doing in the meantime?"

"Make camp. You said that Skeletor was onto us?" He-Man asked.

"Yes, though I'm not sure he has our location anymore," SeaHawk returned.

"Teela will keep guard of you, She-Ra. And I'm sure SeaHawk wouldn't mind sticking around."

Teela crossed her arms over her chest. "What about the Great Rebellion? Can't we just take She-Ra to Grayskull?"

"No," came a sudden voice from behind. LifeDeath stepped towards the startled group. "Sorry about just barging in here, but we need to have a little chat about this right now."

He-Man and his allies looked the Ancient of the Phoenix. "He-Man, you'll find my brother Intrepid at the Crossroads of All Universes. There's a portal at the south pole. Teela, in answer to your question, you must all stay together. The Great Rebellion, I think, is more needed at Grayskull than guarding She-Ra. Besides, you'll have the Zactons to help you out."

The sphere that was comprised of the robotic guardians suddenly leapt out of the Wind Raider and unfolded into at least four dozen forms. These forms transformed, turning into just as many robotic warriors.

"We must protect the Ancient!" the leader declared, pointing at She-Ra protruding midsection.

He-Man smiled, as did everyone else but Teela. "Looks like adequate defense, She-Ra," He-Man said.

"They'll do," LifeDeath decided. "For now."

Suddenly, a new form appeared from the sky. It was white and streaked down from the pale blue sky. 

"Swift-Wind!" cried Teela, happy to see her old friend.

But when Swift-Wind landed, they all found that the pegacorn hadn't come alone. On his back was none other than Queen Marlena.

"She-Ra, He-Man," Marlena addressed, and glanced at both SeaHawk and Teela. LifeDeath hung in back. "The Sorceress decided you may need my help. So, here I am."

"It's good to have you," He-Man told his mother.

"Thank you, He-Man." Marlena's eyes widened as they scanned She-Ra new build. "My, you've gotten quite big, haven't you?"

She-Ra blushed a little. "Yeah."

Marlena, who was wearing a backpack, stepped off of Swift-Wind and patted She-Ra's belly. "Well, don't you worry sweetie. I've got all the medical supplies the Sorceress could dig up."

"Thank you," She-Ra replied and had to avoid saying 'Mom.'

"I have to go now," LifeDeath told He-Man. She then turned to the others. "I'll see you in a day or two."

After she vanished in her usual fashion, He-Man turned to Teela. "We need to unload these supplies. I'll need to take the Wind-Raider if I want to get to the south pole by tonight."

Teela nodded and began to unload the rations, the Books of Spells, and the Masks of Power. After they were secure in a bundle on Teela's back, He-Man unloaded the Air Chariot that had been in compact form in the Wind-Raider storage compartment.

Battle-Cat swaggered around then. "Do you want me to go too?"

"No, Battle-Cat. It's probably best to stay here. Keep an eye on She-Ra . . . and the others," he said with a bit of pause as he looked upon Teela.

"Good journey," many of them wished, and in a moment, He-Man lifted off into the early morning sky and headed south.

The small band made north, away from the coast. The day's were looking gray, the sky now pale and gloomy. The air was getting muggy and She-Ra looked exhausted as she rode Battle-Cat's back with SeaHawk. Marlena rode next to them on Swift-Wind, and Teela was scouting ahead hovering on the Sky Chariot. The forty-eight Zactons held a wide perimeter around the group as they trekked onward.

As the morning sun wore on, they finally came to rest. "This is as good as any a place to camp," Marlena told them. 

They had settled themselves in Evergreen Forest, in a part some five miles in from the coast. They were well hidden from any ariel view by a thick canopy of trees above. There were huge stones and rocks that poped out everywhere around them.

SeaHawk scouted ahead as Teela and Marlena set up the tents. She-Ra had insisted on helping, but Marlena ordered her to take it easy. She-Ra didn't put up much of a fight.

After camp was set-up, SeaHawk returned.

"I need a bath," She-Ra told her friend.

"There's a pond not too far away. No leaches or anything, so it should be save for you and ol' crusty in there."

She-Ra stood up. Marlena looked to Teela. "She-Ra, take Teela with you. I know we've got the Zactons and you're still pretty powerful - but it wouldn't hurt to have some extra protection with you."

"Good idea."

Teela went next to She-Ra, groaning inwardly, but said nothing. Teela made certain that she was at least five steps ahead of She-Ra. Not so much for defensive reasons, but simply because Teela didn't like her and wanted nothing to do with her. She-Ra, apparently, had other plans.

"Teela," said She-Ra, "hold up a second."

Teela sighed quietly and stopped, waiting for the waddling super-heroine to catch up. "Yes?"

"We never get to talk. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to."

"What do you mean?"

She-Ra laughed with slight amusement. "You don't like me very much, do you?"

Teela was startled, but realized it must have been pretty obvious. Still, there was no reason to just outright say it without some pussyfooting first. "I . . . I respect you. I admire you as a warrior. I believe in the cause you fight for. I even appreciate what you're doing right now for a planet that isn't even yours. But - "

"But you don't like me that much."

"No. I don't like you."

She-Ra stopped and looked at Teela's face. "Why?"

Teela blinked. "Huh?"

"Why don't you like me?"

She blushed a little, but did her best not to show it. "I, um, I - "

"Oh," She-Ra realized, and then smiled. "It's He-Man, isn't it? You have feelings for him and you see me as a threat?"

"What?! No, no. It's not that!"

She-Ra shook her head. "Teela, it's okay. I understand. I know you have feelings for him. I can tell. Don't worry. I don't feel that way about He-Man."

"Oh really?" Teela questioned, barely believing it.

"I don't. I never have, never will. I just don't see him that way. He's a companion, a fellow warrior. We're both champions of Grayskull, both wielders of our swords - but neither of us are ever going to be romantically involved."

Teela said nothing and just looked blankly at her.

"Besides," She-Ra continued, and she now leaned forward, eyes glancing back towards camp for a second. "Besides, I've got feelings for someone myself."

"What? Who?"

"SeaHawk," She-Ra confessed in a whisper.

Teela stood there, her mouth unhinged. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious. I think he's great. I do. I really do. I'm so glad he's been here with me while I've been going through this." She shifted a hand onto her tummy.

Teela didn't know what to say. She only stood there, and realized that everything that She-Ra had said was perfectly and completely honest. Yes, there was a bond between She-Ra and He-Man. But it wasn't one that had any sort of romanticism to it. It was like a brother/sister bond. And that was something that was far from threatening.

"I'm sorry," Teela squeaked. She wanted to say more, but it just wasn't coming out.

"It's okay, trust me. I understand." She-Ra's eyes then widened and as she pressed her hand against the side of her belly. "Oh!"

"What?" asked Teela, feeling a slight rush of panic. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Nothing. The baby just kicked, that's all. Here. Feel."

She-Ra grabbed Teela's hand and placed in on her belly. Teela was fascinated by what she felt inside, thumping and kicking about.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

Teela withdrew her hand. "Yeah. Um, is it, like, a real baby in there?"

She-Ra shrugged and the two began walking towards the pond now. "Sorta. I know it's not mine and I know it's accelerated. But it's sometimes hard to differentiate this from what it is and a real, true pregnancy."

She said that last part with a touch of sadness that Teela could both understand and not understand.

"I guess you could just consider this like a preview then?" Teela wondered.

"Oh yeah. Definitely. Although I don't plan on having kids until after the Horde is defeated."

Teela gave a small smile. "Good idea."

They reached the pond and Teela sat down on a rock as She-Ra undressed behind her and dipped her pregnant body into the water. Teela, who decided not to watch She-Ra bathe nude, gazed out into the woods in deep thought.

The last few weeks had been hard enough, but now with She-Ra wanting Teela not to hate her anymore . . . it was just a little too much. But the fact of the matte was, was that Teela didn't hate her. Not anymore at least. The talk they had moments earlier was one Teela never thought she'd have. And she was grateful for it.

Could a friendship be developing here? One totally unexpected, but not totally unwelcomed? Teela just wasn't sure.

"TEELA!"

The Captain of the Royal Guard stood and turned to direction of the shout. She-Ra was lumbering out of the pond, gasping. Teela rushed over, taking slight notice that the Zactons had tightened their perimeter.

"What is it?" asked Teela. She picked up a towel and threw it around She-Ra's naked body.

"I just had a contraction!"


	2. Falsehoods

Chapter Two

"Falsehoods"

Marlena smiled at her daughter and patted her tummy gently. "You just had what my people call 'Braxton-Hicks' contractions. False labor."  
She-Ra squinted at her mother, not completely understanding. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, sweetie, you're not in labor. Not yet. Not according to these scanners you're not." Marlena pointed to a few devices that sat next to She-Ra in her tent. "You had a few contractions, but that doesn't mean you're having the baby."

"Oh," She-Ra replied, with both disappointment and surprise.

"Aw, sweetie," Marlena cooed, rubbing her womb. "Why don't you get some rest, huh? You may have a few more of these."

She-Ra nodded and Marlena left the tent. Outside, standing in the early afternoon light, was Teela, SeaHawk, Battle-Cat, and Swift-Wind.

"What's going on?" asked SeaHawk. Teela noted that the kind of concern in his voice was more than just friendliness.

"She's fine. She's not having the baby. Just a few false labor contractions. She's getting some rest," Marlena answered. "But in the meantime, we need to figure out a few things. Like what we're going do when she actually gives birth."

"You've got medical equipment, don't you?"

Marlena nodded. "Yes, but I'm still a little worried about this. I don't have a lot of medical experience other than the basics."

Teela sighed. "I don't know, your highness. I guess we'll just have to make due."

At that, SeaHawk grunted. "No pun intended."

***

As the late spring afternoon went ever on, smoke rose from the battlefield around Eternos. The city itself was at a complete stand still, with the blue force field surrounding it splashing and flickering with light ever few minutes.

Below, on the ground, General Tartaran watched as Negator and Sssqueeze used the device given to them by Hordak. He watched the displays shift and change, searching for ways to destroy it. They were close, as King Hiss had reported. Very close.

Tartaran spat and walked away from this group. He spotted Evil Lynn sitting by herself, gazing at Eternos. The gray clouds above broke a bit and a beam of sunlight shined upon her. As if she sensed it, she lifted her wand and the clouds covered the sunlight.

"Evil Lynn," said Tartaran, making himself known.

She turned to him and perked an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"We must speak. Of King Hiss."

Evil Lynn glanced around and immediately noticed that no one was standing close enough to hear them. "Speak it."

"I do not trust him. This deception and his alliance with King Pythos violates certain levels of trust. I have spoken to some of the others, and there's definitely a similar feeling here. No one wants Hiss in command."

"There are also those loyal to him," Evil Lynn reminded. "Very loyal. What do you have planned?"

"We turn the tide against King Hiss," Tartaran said in a low voice. "If enough of us stand against him, the others will fall in line."

Evil Lynn nodded. "I'm interested. I can not even imagine what's happening to Skeletor in clutches of Hordak."

"Oh?" Tartaran wondered, his curiosity piqued. "Just how concerned are you, Evil Lynn?"

She gave him a harsh look. "That's none of your concern. I will be ready, Tartaran. And so will the Evil Warriors."

Tartaran grunted and walked off. Evil Lynn watched him and then began to plot out just how she would betray him when the time came to it. Tartaran was a fool. There weren't many here that were much powerful than she was. She was the superior one. Tartaran would take down Hiss, for certain, with her help. 

But she would be the one to take down Tartaran and take this army for her own. She didn't care about Eternos. She did care about Castle Grayskull, though, and that was her target.

***

The Wind-Raider ended its blaze across the arctic wastelands and came to a landed right in front of a huge ice mountain. He-Man held out the Sword of the Ancients, which glowed white as he neared his destination. There was s door, a regular wooden door with a brass doorknob, right at the mountainside.

He stepped to and turned the knob. It was such a strange thing, but He-Man didn't have time to dwell on it. He had a mission and he didn't have a lot of time left. He caught a few comm-line on the Wind-Raider's communicator and heard about the force field at Eternos. It wouldn't be long until it fell - this he knew.

The door opened before him and He-Man stepped into the white expanse beyond the door. It definitely didn't lead into the mountain. This was a blankness. It was strange. It didn't look like the Crossroads of All Universes that he had visited the last time he was here. But perhaps it had changed somehow. 

"No, no, He-Man," came the voice of someone with whom He-Man was well-aware of despite never having meeting him. "You were in a different section of this place."

A man, wearing a black jump with glowing green lines and circles all over it, appeared. "Don't tell me," He-Man said. "You must be Intrepid."

"That I am," Intrepid replied. "I suppose you want me to come with you?"

"That would be nice."

Intrepid grinned. "I don't run this place, you know."

"What?"

"That's what you were thinking. The Crossroads of All Universes connects all sorts of different locales. Different universes. I only clean-up here. Like a janitor."

"Oh. Uh, okay."

Intrepid walked over to He-Man. "I was waiting for you. I can only be brought from this place, I can not leave on my own."

"Why?"

"Because that's the nature of my power. I can't explain. Father will. Shall we go then?"

He-Man, though a little confused, held out the Sword of the Ancients. "Yes."

"One more thing. When I jump into sigil, there will be a door that appears over there." He pointed to He-Man's immediate left. "Go through it. It will take you to my brother, Forge. He left Eternia, you know?"

"I didn't know that, no."

Intrepid's grin was gone now. "Now you do."

Intrepid became a swirling of green lines and circles and they all struck his rune. He-Man gazed at the Sword of the Ancients, then looked up to his immediate left. A new door appeared, the same as the one he walked right through. He stepped forward and opened the door.

***

"All is prepared, Hiss," reported Negator. "The weapon is on-line."

King Hiss smiled in delight. "All ranks advance forward!" he ordered.

The command was then echoed out to all the commanders, and then to all the troops. The massive army stood up, weapons out and armed. They formed lines once more and started forward, King Hiss throwing his fist into the air and charging them on.

"FIRE THE WEAPON!"

The Horde weapon came completely on-line and unleashed a beam of pure white energy. The energy struck the force field and hard. A sound like thunder roared from the force field. It stream blue energy and then - it was gone.

"NOW! NOW! SHADOW WING! BATS! TO THE AIR!"

Batros took to the air, followed by his Bat legions. Shadow Wing, the evil great dragon, soared towards the Second Gate of Eternos, wings thundering. The Bats flanked him on all sides and when Shadow Wing reached the Second Gate, and the Guards began opening fire, they fought for him.

And it was at the Second Gate that a huge flame was belched from deep within the dragon's belly. It spat out, this ball of fire, this flame and struck the Gate. Its great irons began to white hot and parts melted, revealing huge stones behind it.

It would take more of this, Shadow Wing did know, and so he went at it once more.

In the meantime, spears and arrows and missiles were fired upon Eternos itself. Buildings fell and towers crumbled. King Hiss threw his head back and laughed as the great force of Eternos began to topple under his might.

***

The first thing that He-Man noticed was the intense heat. And then the smell. It was a hot, sweaty, humid smell. He began sweating as soon as he stepped onto the ashy ground. Huge mounds all around him, he now saw, were blasting out huge flames they reached high towards the orange clouds.

He-Man, though, continued to walk forward.

"Forge!" He-Man shouted. "Ancients of the Weapons! I am He-Man! Wielder of the Sword of Power, champion of Castle Grayskull and protector of Eternia! You are needed! I summon you!"

A huge form appeared from one of the mounds. A very muscular man wearing only a pair of ripped up pants and wielding a hammer now stood in front of He-Man.

"Quiet it down there, boy! I'm busy!"

"I - "

A light and gentle hand reached out and touched He-Man's shoulder. He was shocked to see LifeDeath (as her usual entrance) standing behind him.

"Let me talk to him," she told He-Man. He-Man nodded.

"Forge, we need to have a chat."

"Been a while, LifeDeath," Forge replied. "Kinda surprised to see you in active status these days. Thought you were just fine livin' in that valley o' yours."

She smiled a little. "Eternia needs your help."

Forge snorted. "What the hell are you talking about? There's a whole lot of you on Eternia! You don't need my help. Why don't you go bug Procrustus?"

LifeDeath took a breath. "He's dead, Forge."

He-Man was shocked to see Forge's reaction. Forge stepped back, eyes wide. "What? Are you joking?"

"No. Of course not."

Forge glanced at He-Man. He-Man said nothing.

"Oh damn . . . DAMN!" Forge roared. He turned around and in a bout of anger, threw his hammer into the air. He-Man couldn't tell where it landed.

"There is a plan in the works," LifeDeath told him. "It involves the other champion of Grayskull. She's serving as a surrogate mother."

"Who did it?" Forge asked, eyes clamped shut.

"The Spirit of Evil."

"Who else is involved?"

"Everyone is on board, save for you, Mother, Father, Good, and Evil. Are you in?"

Forge glanced again at He-Man. "I will join you, then, sister. This can not afford to go on any longer."

Forge's rune on the Sword of the Ancients turned red and Forge became like a burst sparks when he struck it. He-Man looked at LifeDeath as the pair walked through the door back to the Crossroads of All Universes.

"What was all that about?" asked He-Man.

"Forge is the youngest and most emotional of all the Ancients, He-Man. If you had told him about Procrustus, he would have killed you," LifeDeath answered honestly.

"Nice."

"Yeah."

"Why didn't he know?"

They reached the door He-Man had originally come through. They emerged into the snow and ice. The Wind-Raider sat waiting.

"As you know, some of the Ancients left Eternia. He was one of them and he cut himself out of the loop. That was the only way to find him. He-Man, you need to be ready for whatever happens here. The Ancients have all been around for a very long time, and we usually know how these things work out. But this time, no one knows. The Spirit of Evil is even more powerful than ever."

He-Man was a little rattled by this. "I'll . . . I'll do what I can."

"I know you will. Go to Skytree now. You're almost done."

And with that, she was gone.

***

"King Miro! The Second Gate has collapsed!"

Miro ran to the balcony and watched Shadow Wing delivered the final blow. The doors broke down. The debris beyond was proving to be a bit of trouble for the Ilkorts and the Torks who now attempted to charge in.

Weapons fire from all around the door picked off some of the intruders, but it was getting hopeless.

"Launch all air vehicles! Seal off the first level! Fall back and reconsolidate all forces! We need to re-group! I repeat: we need to re-group!" Miro commanded.

Explosions roared through the city. Troops and soldiers shouted and roared.

Above, Talon Fighters, Wind Raiders, and Air Chariots launched and opened fire on the lines beyond the walls of Eternos. They met up with their own resistance from Bats and Shadow Wing, but they still pressed onward.

Miro shook his head and hung it as the battle turned unnecessarily bloody. At long last, the lines between good and evil had been blurred forever.

"They're taking the First Level, but we've got a secure boarder around the city," Man-E-Faces reported.

"It helps that they can only get through the gates," followed-up Mekaneck. "They can only get so many troops through at a time."

"That it why the city was designed the way it was," Miro snapped. "Assemble all of the Heroic Warriors and have them prepared to battle off the enemy. Rokkon and Stonedar are to remain here, simply because I am aware that some of you don't quite trust them yet. We can't have that affecting what is to happen."

"Good fortune, King Miro," Man-E-Faces replied. He and Mekaneck walked out of the room, then, leaving King Miro alone.

Ever so alone.


	3. Chaos at Eternos

Chapter Three

"Chaos at Eternos"

The word 'hero' had never before been used in such a terrible manner than Miro had two hours earlier. It was night now and the siege on Eternos was growing worse for those in the city. It only seemed to get worse when the Heroic Warriors were released upon those that entered the Second Gate.

These 'heroes' who once preserved life with great amounts of honor were suddenly raining death upon any that neared them. They gave into their dark and evil natures that had been brought out by the Spirit of Evil. The Heroic Warriors code of honor specifically stated that 'Life is to be kept at all cost, and Death brought only as a last resort.'

The first part was now forgotten.

Roboto blasted away Orcs with his laser beams, sending seared and broken body parts onto the stone streets. Stratos picked up Goblins and simply dropped them onto nearby buildings, snapping them apart. Sy-Klone got a hold of some blades and just spun around, slicing and dicing the enemies that came towards him. Rotar bore himself into the legs of entering Ilkorts.

Rotar wasn't the only one attacking the Ilkorts in such a manner - Ram-Man was leaping forward and breaking their legs. Rio-Blast and his cybernetic weapons shot up Ogres. Snout Spout blasted a bunch of Ogres into wall with a bone-crushing force of water. Moss Man strangled Orcs with wild vines.

Clamp Champ sent his twin clamps around a few Goblin guts, slicing them. Fisto, whose face was still ripped up and recovering from the battle earlier with the Great Rebellion, was breaking everyone's bones as an enemy came even near him. Buzz-Off was chopping into Belats left and right. Some of the Belats were lifted up and thrown away by Extendar.

Man-E-Faces would change from Man to Monster and would tear into a terrible rage and rip an Orc up limb-by-limb. And then he would go from Monster to Robot and would damage them in the most lethal way. Mekaneck worked along side them, slamming his club into whatever many enemies came to him.

These warriors were no longer Heroes. This was their trial by fire into the forays of evil and darkness. These hours would never leave as they took the lives of their foes in the black of night.

***

Dawn came across Eternia, this ninth day since the quest began. He-Man had never been more tired than he had in his entire life. The sleep he had received between these meetings had been very little. And now with reports that the force field had fallen coming through on the comm-lines, he knew he wouldn't be getting anymore until this conflict was over.

He soared over the Evergreen Forest, towards his destination. He-Man spotted the arranged place of his visit and landed.

"He-Man!" came the voice of the living tree.

He-Man fell onto one knee, bowing in respect to Skytree, oldest of all things on Eternia. "Skytree, I have come seeking the Ancients."

"Ancients?" wondered Skytree, his branches moving about in thought. "Ah, yes. The Ancients. They should be here somewhere."

"Here we are," a voice announced. It was a beautiful, lyrical voice. He-Man turned around and saw a woman dressed a beautiful sky blue gown walking out of the forest. Two children ran in front of her.

"Good and Evil at your service," said the one child. He was wearing a white outfit, and He-Man assumed he was Good. The other boy, the one He-Man assumed was Evil, was wearing just black.

"They're children?" he asked with a gasp.

"But they're older than most of the other Ancients. Curious, isn't it? I am Unity, He-Man," the woman greeted. "You should have come to me first. I am the Mother. That sword you carry is mine."

"Then you may have it."

He-Man was prepared to hand it to her, but she lifted her hand. "No. Not yet, at least. The battle has yet to play out. When it comes, mayhaps I shall take up the blade once more."

Suddenly, the two children changed. Good became like glowing water and flowed into rune. Evil became like smoke and shifted into his rune.

"I only have one last Ancient to find and gather," He-Man told her after Good and Evil finished entering the Sword of the Ancients. "And that's Master."

She smirked. "My husband, of sorts."

"Of sorts?"

Unity stepped towards He-Man. "We brought mainstream sorcery to Eternia, He-Man. He took up the roles of representing certain aspects of the planet and of the universe. We studied these aspects until we became these aspects. We are far from deities, Rising Son. We're just very old. We know things. Many, many things."

He-Man felt very uncomfortable all of a sudden. "How do you mean?"

"I'll let the Master of the Ancients explain that to you, Rising Son. But I can tell you this - the way we shaped Eternia has been a very traditional thing. However far away you go from Eternia, your destiny lies here on this planet. And trust me, your travels will take you very far from here."

With that, she splashed into a blue light and went into her rune.

***

The clouds were no long gray. They had indeed gone completely black, making the day seem more like night. It was an ominous black, like that a terrible storm. But there was no thunder nor lightning nor rain. The animals stopped carrying on and moved with such silence - as if the slightest sound would attract their natural enemy. 

Teela found it unsettling but said nothing, just as the others said nothing. They were on the move again, hoping for an even more secure location like an abandoned house or an inn to stay at. She-Ra was close to giving birth, though her water hadn't broken yet nor had she had more than two or three Braxton-Hicks contractions.

Marlena and SeaHawk were ahead of them, sharing the Sky Chariot and scouting for a good place to make theirs for the next few hours. The Zactons were all around, beeping and whirring at each other.

"Has there been any word from He-Man?" asked She-Ra.

"Not yet," Teela replied, riding next to her. "Are you nervous?"

She-Ra smirked. "All things considered? I'd rather be kissing Hordak right now."

"Oh Ancients! That's disgusting!" Teela remarked immediately. Swift-Wind and Battle-Cat both laughed. 

She-Ra giggled a little. "I can't wait to be back to normal, to be honest. Although I am going to miss having someone so close to me. I need to lose all this weight though."

Teela perked an eyebrow. "Really? Actually, She-Ra, other than the belly, it doesn't look like you've gained much weight anywhere else."

"Probably not, but it feels like it at least," She-Ra considered. Teela nodded, hoping to understand a little. "But what about you? Do you ever plan on having kids some day?"

"Me? Yeah. Eventually. Not in a big hurry right now, though. Need to find the right guy and all that."

"Have you found him yet?"

"He-Man, you mean? I would hope so, really. But . . . I don't know. It's kinda weird with him, though. He can be a little too . . . heroic for me. Does that make sense? It's like, I don't know, I don't want to be rescued every twenty minutes for me to really like him."

"You basically want what's behind that heroism, then?"

"Yes. I've seen him with his guard down and that's when I love him the most."

She-Ra nodded. "It's very understand for me. We champions of Grayskull have a lot of responsibility and it's hard to let down that guard of ours. This, heh, this is most vulnerable I've ever been."

"Really? In your whole life?"

"Yeah."

"How long have you been a champion of Grayskull? How long has He-Man?" asked Teela.

She-Ra frowned a little. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that, Teela. It's kind of a secret."

"Oh. Okay."

They both looked forward, and could still hear the Air Chariot soaring about. "Hey," said She-Ra then, "have you thought about Prince Adam at all?"

Teela looked startled. "Adam? Really?"

"Yeah. Seems like a nice guy to me. Not really my type, but I think you and him would be great together."

Teela thought about it, obviously caught off guard. "I . . . no. I mean, I thought I did for a little while. But I was just projecting my feelings for He-Man onto him. No. He's too much like a brother."

She-Ra smirked. "Whatever you say."

***

The noon came and the First Level of Eternos had been abandoned. The Heroic Warriors had fallen back hours ago. Despite their newfound bloodlust, the enemies' numbers were too many. The morning had come, but the sun seemed nowhere to be found. The clouds were heavy - heavier than imaginable. This would be the day . . . the day that the fate of Eternia would be decided. 

Chanting filled the air, drums thundered, and weapons fired upon the besieged city of Eternos.

King Miro stood in the heart of the Palace, gazing out upon the death and destruction that overtook the city he once and was now forced to command.

"This is madness," he told Rokkon, who stood slightly behind. "Madness pure and true."

"I know, sire," Rokkon replied.

"Anything about Zodac?"

"Not yet."

Miro closed his eyes. "This is a day I never thought would come. I do fear Eternos will far before moonrise."

Rokkon said nothing.

And then . . . there was a noise.

It was a loud, proud noise that came from the hills to the north of the great city and its Palace. It was a sound of power and strength. It was a horn.

Miro and Rokkon rushed to the balcony and looked to the north. "I never thought I'd see this sight," Miro told Rokkon in a tone of amazement.

Trolls, bearing the banners of Darksmoke and at least 20,000 strong, stood upon the hills. Their spears glistened in the dimmest beams of sun that managed to poke through the black clouds. Swords were listed and the Trolls roared in a battle cry.

And then . . . they charged.

Immediately, they collided with the Goblins, the Orcs, the Reptons, and all the other dark races that had taken arms against Eternos. Blood spattered the ground, along with body-parts of the enemy.

General Tartaran turned to King Hiss, then, knowing this was the moment to act or all would be lost. "This is madness, Hiss! Darksmoke stands against us now!" Tartaran yelled, hand on the hilt of his blade.

"If Darksmoke stands against us, then we have no hope of winning this," Monteeg added, part of Tartaran 's plan.

"Quiet you!" snapped King Hiss. "We have the Trolls outnumbered, anyway. The rabble is nothing compared to our mighty forces!"

There was a sudden roar from above. Shadow Wing took an immediate defensive position as Granamyr himself soared over the horizon. Behind Granamyr were thirty other dragons of various shapes, sizes and colors.

"HOW DO YOU EXPECT US TO STAND AGAINST THAT!?!" thundered Tartaran. He pulled out his sword. "You've led us to our doom!"

"Put that sword down," cracked Baron Grod of the Ogres. "You and your traitorous spirit could cost us what remains of a victory!"

"King Hiss is the one that started this! It is he who we should blame!" snarled Haramesh, master of the Ilkorts.

"Blame yourself, weakling!" Batros yelled.

"Weakling!? WEAKLING!?!?" Haramesh lurched forward, long fingers reaching for Batros.

"Keep off of him!" yelled Subternias, leaping onto Haramesh.

A fight broke out now, between these great leaders, very quickly, the army followed suit.

Meanwhile, Granamyr flew towards Eternos, the other dragons in tow. A few them split off to deal with the army below, but the others made for the city itself. This seemed strange in King Miro's eyes, as there were more enemies below than above. A strange and very disturbing realization came to them old king then. One that scared him to the bone.

"Oh no," he muttered.

Granamyr landed on the wall and pointed towards the Palace. "ETERNOS WILL BE OURS! THE TRUE LEADERS OF ETERNIA, THE DRAGONS, WILL POSSESS IT'S CAPITAL!"

The dragons under Granamyr's command unleashed fireballs against both Eternos and evil troops in the city. King Miro stood with wide-eyed disbelief at what was happening. Granamyr, the Trolls and dragons didn't come here to save Eternos.

They came to take for themselves. 

And it was at that moment - as the army of darkness began to battle with itself . . . as the dragons besieged the City of Eternos . . . as madness and fear completely overtook the Heroic Warriors and the Royal Guard - it was at that moment that chaos completely erupted.


	4. Penultimate

Chapter Four

"Penultimate"

He-Man was suddenly unaware of his location.

Skytree was blathering about how Good and Evil wouldn't leave him alone, and He-Man bade him farewell and walked off. But he was suddenly . . . no longer where he thought he was. Huge trees still loomed overhead, but they weren't the same ones from before. He was in a different place now, a place with no Skytree and he was almost sure he had left Eternia altogether.

And then he heard a noise. It was the sound of an old parchment in a book, being turned from one page to the next. He rushed towards the sound, one hand on the Power Sword and the near the hilt of the Sword of the Ancients.

In a nearby gully, sitting on a large, fallen and moss-covered branch was an old man. He wore a gray cloak and robe that covered his entire form. In his ancient hands was the book He-Man had heard. He-Man looked at the cover of the book and felt very odd at the sight.

It read:

"HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

"SHE-RA: PRINCESS OF POWER

"THE NEW ADVENTURES OF HE-MAN

"HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE"

Each title was printed in large, golden words that scrolled across the cover. He-Man felt like shaking at the sight. He wasn't sure why, and none of it seemed to make sense. What was this book? Why was it here? Why was this man looking at it?

"Because he changed the story," said the old man.

"What?"

The old man looked up. "He changed the story. He planned for a different ending, but changed it at the last minute."

"Who changed it? Changed what?"

The old man waved his hand dismissively. "Nevermind, Rising Son. You won't remember this part anyways. The Fourth Wall stuff is always forgotten."

He-Man a strange sensation. He looked behind him and felt like someone was watching him. Or . . . rather . . . _reading_ him.

"Have a seat," the old man told He-Man.

He-Man walked over, the sensation evaporating. He sat down next to the old man.

"You're Master?"

"Yes, I am. And we need to have a little chat before we get moving on this."

***

"This is insanity," Evil Lynn commented to Tri-Klops as the two stood back-to-back against those that just hours ago were allies.

"No kidding," he muttered in return, eyes unleashed blasts at their nearing opponents. "I don't think we'll make it out of this one."

"This was a poor plan from the beginning."

"But you went along with it. On your left."

Evil Lynn fired a beam in the direct Tri-Klops had indicated. "I went through with it because that's what Skeletor wanted."

Tri-Klops leaned back, one of his eyes looking over her shoulder. She fired a few more beams of power. "Do you always do what Skeletor wants?"

"We all have to," she grumbled.

"We're not going to survive this, Lynn."

Evil Lynn fired another wave at her enemies and then turned fully to Tri-Klops, whose eyes were firing on.

"What makes you say that?"

"I can see it."

For a brief moment, the battle around them paused. Evil Lynn stepped up, put her hand around the back of his head and pulled his forward towards her. The two kissed deeply and strongly. They broke just as another wave of attackers made for them.

"What was that for?" Tri-Klops asked, all three eyes wide.

"A reason to survive. I'll see you when this is over."

She flipped up into the air, and began to strike out at the opposing forces. Evil Lynn could never have conceived things going this poorly. She had actually deluded herself into thinking that this would work. That Skeletor could pull it off. But it was the betrayal of King Hiss that did her in. That did them _all_ in.

It was then, in the middle of combat, that Evil Lynn realized something. Ever since Skeletor was taken by Hordak to Etheria, Locus was no where to be found. The orchestrater of this whole event had completely vanished.

***

Much to He-Man's surprise, the book in Master's hands faded away, and He-Man began to forget what the title of the book even was . . .

"So, what did you want to chat about?"

Master smiled and took a deep breath into his old lungs. "You are not the first, nor are the last, of a long line of guardians and guides. Myself and the Ancients, the Council of Elders, and now you. We have fought for the balance of good and evil here on Eternia, whether it was in the form of good or in the form of evil. More often than not, it has been in the form of good, because evil swells into shape before good even thinks to.

"These guardianship and guidance roles has existed since the long before First Age, in the days of Preternia and before the splitting on the world. The First Ones, who we named, were not the first powers of Eternia, though we are not aware of any before them. We Ancients followed in succession. After us came the Council of Elders – and it was there the first guardian of Grayskull arose."

He-Man nodded. "He-Ro. Prince Gray, the long-lost heir to Eternos."

"The Elders gave him a powerful weapon – the Staff of Power. It allowed him great power and great strength and he fought evil until his death. He was the Rising Son, just as you are now."

"I don't understand that name," He-Man confessed.

"You are rising against evil as a son of men. He-Man, you were not foreseen by anyone. It was by pure shock and surprise by both the Elders and we Ancients that you and your sister were even born. But as soon as you were born, we all knew that great destinies were laid out before the both of you. You and Adora came from out of a nexus of events – the children of the royal family, Marlena of Earth, the lineage of King Gray, the Horde, and Zodac."

"Zodac? What does he have to do with any of this?"

Master made an emotionless expression. "There are still truths to be revealed at a different time. Trust me. In the meantime, you and your sister took up the Swords of Power and Protection, becoming the guardians of Grayskull and Eternia. He-Man . . . you and your allies are the next Ancients, the next Elders. For centuries beyond, you will become legend and myth."

"How can you know that?"

Master smiled. "When you have two children that can travel through time, you get the chance to learn a lot of things. But He-Man, listen to me, you very important in the destiny of Eternia. Eternia is forever and you are its guardian of good. You are bound by the power of Castle Grayskull – the power of the Ancients, the power of the Elders, and the power within you."

"Within me?"

"Your spirit, pure and true, given flesh and manifestation. You are strong, you are loyal, and hopeful, and responsible, courageous and true. You are HE who is the MAN. You are He-Man, most powerful man . . . in the universe."

***

The afternoon sun was quickly passing along in the sky, and the group settled at the edge of an apparently abandoned and quite old village. Neither Teela nor Marlena knew of this place – it was on no map, nor was a part of any one kingdom. It looked at least twenty years abandoned and the longer they stayed there, the more Teela suspected it was probably evacuated during the Horde War and the residents either didn't survive or chose not to return. Whatever the case – it was their temporary home now.

Everyone wanted She-Ra to stay in a nearby house, but it was so hot in these late spring months that she had insisted to stay outside. The house had a deck and that's where She-Ra nestled, hand rubbing her bloated belly.

"How are you feeling?" asked SeaHawk, who sat on the deck stairs, looking out carefully into the woods beyond the road into the village.

"Uncomfortable, but . . ."

It was then Teela came walking onto the deck, a knapsack swung across her shoulder. "I was able to find some supplies," she said, giving a smile to the obviously miserable She-Ra.

Marlena walked out of the house. "I've got a bed set-up in there, sweetie," she told She-Ra. She had been mothering She-Ra, but was careful not to overdo to keep the secret safe. Teela and SeaHawk took note of it, but assumed it was because of the Princess of Power's condition and nothing else.

"Thanks," She-Ra replied, dying to say 'Mom.'

Marlena smiled and gripped She-Ra's shoulder affectionately, then looked to Teela. "Are you ready to play mid-wife, Teela?"

Teela's eyes widened with shock. ". . . What?"

She-Ra groaned. "Oh no."

The Captain of the Royal Guard looked over at her, offended. So much for an amicable relationship. "Excuse me?"

"No, it's not you," snapped She-Ra honestly. "I don't want to do this. I don't want to give birth. I don't want this at all."

SeaHawk smiled. "What's wrong? Don't think you can handle the pain?"

She-Ra shot him the worst look he had ever received from a woman in his entire life. And that was most definitely saying something.

"Eep. Sorry."

Just then, Battle-Cat and Swift-Wind (who had both been grazing in a nearby field) sprung to their feet, and marched over to the run-down house.

"What is it?" asked Teela, noting the pair's defensive postures.

"Something's out there," Swift-Wind replied with a grim tone, his wings unfolding upon his back.

She-Ra grabbed hold of her Sword of Protection and struggled to her feet. The others each grabbed a weapon.

"She-Ra, get inside," Teela ordered. "You too, your highness."

"I don't think so," Marlena replied, stepping in front of She-Ra. "But you, She-Ra, go."

"No," She-Ra replied. "I'm the most powerful - "

Before she could continue, an alarming amount of loud beeps came from the Zactons. They all suddenly pulled back from the loose perimeter they had formed. They circled around the house, most of them grouping around She-Ra and the gang on the deck.

And then . . . everything went silent. No one moved from their stance, none of the Zactons made any sort of change in their position, and everyone stood in place. A strange and ominous breeze moved out from the forest, then, and the crunching of sticks, leaves, and plants was heard.

Locus appeared suddenly, staff in his hands.

"Found you," he cackled.

The Zactons jumped into action, moving swiftly towards the evil wizard. Lasers were produced, shooting at him. Locus lifted his staff and the beams were immediately deflected away from him. All forty-eight of them were mobilized, charging towards Locus and tearing up the grass along their way.

"The Spirit of Evil's power over Eternia itself grows by the hour," Locus commented.

As soon as the Zactons neared him, the ground rumbled and suddenly – to the group's horror – a great gap opened up beneath the Zactons' wheels. They went falling beeping into the abyss below.

Locus then proceeded to float over the abyss and arrived at the other side, where he began to walk towards the house.

Battle-Cat and Swift-Wind were the first. Battle-Cat sprung from the ground, teeth bared and claws out. Swift-Wind was in the air and was heading towards Locus like a bullet. Locus was too fast though. He slammed the end of his staff against the belly of the tiger and it resulted in energy streams blasting off from the impact. He then spun around and struck Swift-Wind in head, the same effect occurring. He fell next to the struck-down Battle-Cat.

Teela was in the air, her leg outstretched for a kick. Locus moved with lightning-fast speed and was able to send his staff sailing towards Teela. Much to his surprise, Teela blocked it with her snake-head staff. He was thrown backwards, but didn't leave his feet.

The Captain of the Royal Guard charged towards him, but Locus threw his hand out. Teela was stopped in the mid-run, and was suddenly pushed backward. She slammed into a tree and fell unconscious.

SeaHawk and Marlena opened fire, using laser-fire against Locus. The laser beams vanished as soon as they came within inches of him. Two energy beams fired from his fingers, and both Marlena and SeaHawk were down for the count.

She-Ra stepped forward, Sword of Protection raised in her somewhat swollen fingers. "No farther, Locus."

"Hahaha! Please!"

"I am She-Ra, champion of Castle Grayskull and wielder of the Sword of Protection! Step no farther and I shall spare your life!" she yelled without any effect on him.

Locus was now within striking distance of She-Ra. His staff swung forward, heading right towards her belly. She-Ra threw her sword into the way, completely blocking the attack. But Locus used this to his advantage. He launched a palm-first punch right to She-Ra's head.

She fell backwards, her body stinging. The Sword of Protection tumbled to the ground. Her whole body felt suddenly weak, and Procrustus was kicking up a storm inside her womb. The blow must have been enchanted somehow.

"Time to fail and die, you little cow."

And then – a beam of light struck Locus. He yelled and crumbled back from She-Ra. She-Ra took the opportunity and managed to pull herself to her feet. She looked for Locus' attacker and promised herself that even if it were Hordak, they would get a huge hug.

"Only a wizard can defeat a wizard," said the voice of Malik. At his side was Karin

Locus ignored She-Ra and stepped off the deck and made for the pair. Karin didn't move, but Malik took a step forward, staff pointed outwards.

"You're nothing but a child," snarled Locus.

"No. I was. I grew up."

Locus roared a spell and moved his staff harshly in the direction of Malik. An invisible force was fired from it, and went towards Malik. Malik knew this and also knew its counter (few did). He spun his staff around in front of him and that force was suddenly under his command.

Malik pointed his staff in the same manner at Locus. Locus was shocked as it was pulled from his very fingers and went sailing towards Malik. As the staff came closer, Malik lifted his staff up. Locus' staff shattered, and the pieces fell to the ground, all and any power within dead.

"NO!" cried Locus.

Energy danced from Locus' fingers and struck Karin. She screamed and tumbled back. Before Malik could do anything, the same energy struck Malik and he was on the ground as well, unable to muster a defense.

Locus was about to turn back to She-Ra – 

When a fist struck him in the face. Locus reeled back, She-Ra standing there, in all her pregnant glory. With a sudden strength and grace unknown, She-Ra delivered a number of kicks to Locus in the chest. She then swung around onto the other foot let him have a roundhouse kick. She leaned forward and punched him in the head once more.

As Locus went to recover, She-Ra was in motion. She made for the deck and the Sword of Protection. With shocking little struggle, she lifted the Sword of Protection.

"IT'S OVER!" Locus screamed, and pure energy fuming from his clenched fists.

"NO!" returned She-Ra. She lifted the Sword of Protection into the air. "FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!"

The energy leapt from Locus' hands and went to She-Ra's form. But it came short, striking against a invisible power that was rippling from both She-Ra and her Sword of Protection.

"I AM SHE-RA!" she cried in that great moment. Her whole body glowed, the light warm and powerful. Locus stood dumbstruck, fear gripping his heart. She was powerful, yes, but also very beautiful. He could feel himself growing weak before her.

"No . . ." he gasped.

She-Ra pointed her glowing sword right at him.

"And you . . . are finished," she concluded.

The power she was producing awoke the others and Teela, Marlena, SeaHawk, Malik, Karin, Battle-Cat, and Swift-Wind watched as She-Ra took on Locus. From the Sword of Protection, a beam of incredible power was unleashed.

It struck Locus and the evil wizard was overcome in the surge against his body and mind. He yelled out in shock and anger. He fell onto his back, in a terrible and deep sleep.

The energy around She-Ra faded and she almost fell over.

SeaHawk grabbed her, and held her steady. "Are you okay?" he asked. "What just happened?"

"He was going to kill my baby," She-Ra muttered, exhaustion taking hold.

"Good thing you should up when you did," Teela said to Malik.

"The Spirit of Evil nearly killed us. We had to let it think it did or Locus would have been prepared," replied Malik, checking on Karin. She was fine.

"They're bonded," Karin explained.

"Not anymore," She-Ra replied, taking a seat in the chair on the deck.

"The Zactons are gone," Teela commented, gazing at the abyss.

"What now?" asked Battle-Cat.

"AH! SHIT!"

Everyone turned around to see the origin of the exasperation. She-Ra was standing now, and there was a small puddle between her feet.

"Uh-oh," gasped Marlena.

"What in the hell happened?" asked SeaHawk.

"My water just broke. No more teases. I'm going into labor."

***

"When you reach the center of Eternia, He-Man, you are the only one that can summon the Ancients. You alone." The Master turned fully to He-Man. "Now that I have told you all that, you may ask what you came here to ask."

"Will join me in the battle against the Spirit of Evil and the restoration of Eternia?"

Master smiled and shook He-Man's hand. "Just try and stop me."


	5. The Day of Fates

Chapter Five

"The Day of Fates"

Eternos burned in dragon fire.

While its citizens hunkered down in the vaults and the securest locations, soldiers went scrambling with both weapons and water. The black clouds above offered no rain, but only thunder and lightning. The war here would be talked about for years to come.

The dragons lost only two of their kin and the others were occupied with the battle with the evil army below. In this black hour of combat, alliances were gone among those under the influence of the Spirit of Evil. 

The elite Snake-Men stood ever-by King Hiss, protecting their great leader against the any that wished to kill him. The Evil Warriors were trying with some difficulty to stay near each other, but their amassing adversaries and the truest chaotic nature of this battle kept forcing them away.

Behind the wall of Eternos, the Heroic Warriors held strongly against the tides of Orges and Goblins that continued to try and take the city. None of these sworn defenders made any sort of effort to help those may have been trapped by the burning houses. The Spirit of Evil's power does indeed grow stronger by the hour, as was evidenced with that simply and terrible fact.

The dragons under the command of Granamyr were divided between the army below and the taking of Eternos. There were few breaches of the actual Palace, but all knew it was only a matter of time. Granamyr himself was busy handling Shadow Wing; the two were unleashing the flames and magics upon the other with little to no effect.

King Randor, King Stephan, Queen Johanna, and Man-At-Arms were still sedated and locked down in the dungeon, blissfully unaware of the battle above.

King Miro, however, was about ready to accept this as the fabled 'End of Men.' He stood upon the balcony, still no crown on his brow, but wielded the sword of his family.

"We are spent," he said with much exhaustion. "Be this the end of Eternos?"

"No yet," Rokkon attempted to assure the king. "Zodac is coming. We must trust to that."

Stonedar said nothing, but gazed to the north. There was something there that caught his attention. "Rokkon," he addressed his mentor. "Do you see anything to the north?"

Rokkon joined his apprentice. "Yes. Figures. And . . ."

"What? What is it?"

Rokkon smiled and turned to King Miro. "The Great Rebellion."

Indeed. Queen Angela (her wing fully healed) stood with the others in the Great Rebellion as they prepared to bring light to the darkness. Even Bow was there, most of his injuries healed over. They were all there – Sweet Bee, Flutterina, Mermista, Netossa, Perfuma, Castaspella, Bow, Sorrowful, Spinnerella, Glimmer, Sunder, Queen Angella, Frosta, Madame Razz & Broom, and Kowl.

"Prepare to strike them hard, my friends," Angella announced. "If Eternos falls, so shall Eternia. And should Eternia fall, so shall Etheria."

Sorrowful the dragon looked up from Queen of Brightmoon and then looked at the dragons that laid down their flames against the city and the army. He gulped, and then looked back at Angella.

"You must protect the city, Sorrowful," Angella told him. "You must find your strength within and do it."

"Okay," was all that Sorrowful could produce.

"THEN LET US MAKE WAR AGAINST EVIL!" roared Angella, and charged forward on her beautiful white wings.

Behind her, the Great Rebellion followed, ready for combat. They collided with their enemies and the battle pulled them in like a great beast devouring a meal. The battle roared on, the Great Rebellion unleashing the full breadth of their power upon the enemy forces. The weariness that held them back from entering the confrontation earlier fled them like darkness in light and they unleashed themselves against their foes.

But while the others were having a fair amount of success, Sorrowful, however, was not. He tried to muster enough strength to take down his foes, but it was more than a little difficult for the young and under-confident dragon. Very little fire burst from his mouth, and his tail seemed the only capable of striking anyone.

Two dragons from Darksmoke smiled at each other and dove for Sorrowful. They grabbed by the arms, each one handling an arm.

"Little boy, little boy, you shouldn't be here," taunted one named Raven.

"Yeah!" snorted the other, whose name was Krueger. "This is no place for one such as you, child-thing!"

"In fact, the two of us are convince you're not even a dragon," laughed Raven.

"Yes! Not a dragon at all! A fat lizard with friends that will be toast in mere moments!" Krueger snickered.

"I am too a dragon!" replied Sorrowful as the two dragons that held him rushed further up.

"Then prove it, you stupid lizard!"

Something changed inside of Sorrowful then, and a great fury burned within. His arms were suddenly free from the grip of the dragons. He swung around, one fist slamming into Raven's head; his tail striking against Krueger's belly. The two were tossed from Sorrowful and the young dragon dove down. As he did, he turned towards them.

His mouth open, and an inferno of flames came roaring out. It slammed right into Raven and Krueger, the pair of dragons spinning out of control, their mighty scales burnt by the terrible flames.

Sorrowful, a new and very great confidence within him, made for Eternos to serve in its defense. And it would need all the help it could get. 

***

A portal appeared just beyond the house and both Battle-Cat and Swift-Wind took up defensive position in front of the door. When He-Man came through alone and the portal closed, they relaxed somewhat.

"I have them all," he told his friends.

"Good."

"Where's She-Ra?"

"Inside," replied Swift-Wind. "She's in labor."

He-Man's eyes grew a little wide, and then he sprinted inside. Right passed the door, She-Ra was laying on a cot, holding hands with SeaHawk. Marlena was tending to her and Teela was looking uncomfortable as she boiled water. He-Man wasn't very surprised to see Malik and Karin rejoin the group. The pair were currently flipping through two or three books.

"He-Man!" gasped Teela. "The Ancients . . . ?"

"They've all agreed," He-Man replied. "How far is she?"

Marlena checked a small computer set-up next to the cot. "Mid-way through, I'd say. We need to get to Grayskull."

He-Man nodded. "Agreed. The Sorceress can - "

"No," said LifeDeath all of a sudden, stepping through the door. "Procrustus must be born in his chamber so that he can be binded to it. I'm sorry, She-Ra, but it's the only way."

She-Ra grunted, not really saying anything. 

"She's right, He-Man," Malik agreed. "I'll begin casting a portal open that take right outside the core of Eternia."

LifeDeath nodded. "As long as he is brought to his chains in the immediate minutes after his birth, then it can be done. I will see you in a few minutes."

With that, LifeDeath vanished into the Sword of the Ancients. He-Man took a deep a breath. "Okay, let's get packing. We need a plan. Karin, SeaHawk, Queen Marlena – you three need to tend to She-Ra as she's giving birth. Malik will be the carrier. As soon as Procrustus is born, Malik, you will bring the baby to LifeDeath or me. Teela, you and I will aid the Ancients in any way we can. Even if that means standing by in case they're all killed. Battle-Cat, Swift-Wind – you two need to protect She-Ra from the Spirit of Evil or anything else that maybe lurking down there."

Teela looked at He-Man then. "What do you mean if the Ancients are all killed?"

He-Man shook his head. "I'm not going to lie to you. They don't know the outcome of this battle. That can not see past the fates here. But we must keep to hope. It is all we have now."

A few minutes later, as the clouds continued to darken, they gathered together outside the house. Malik made the final preparations for a portal.

"How come we weren't able to use this earlier?" asked He-Man. "When we went into the Mines of Alluray?"

"We didn't even know there was an exterior chamber until yesterday when we did a recon down there," Karin answered.

Malik completed the portal. Marlena sat with She-Ra on Swift-Wind's saddle, and held her close as She-Ra sweated hard. Battle-Cat carried four packs of supplies on his back. He-Man, with the Sword of Power, Sword Protection, and the Sword of the Ancients, also carried the cot with SeaHawk. Both Teela and Karin had knapsacks on their backs, which held the weapons of the Ancients (the Book of Spells, the Masks of Power). Malik stood before them and waved his staff.

A blue portal opened and they all walked in, one-by-one . . .

. . . On the other side was a place that He-Man and Teela immediately recognized. It wasn't the exact chamber they had come to before, but it was similar. There was a gigantic chain leading into a massive door. That door put them right into the center of all Eternia.

He-Man put the cot down, and Marlena and SeaHawk helped She-Ra onto it. The supplies were all unpacked, from blankets and towels to heated water and ice. Marlena and Karin immediately began to check on the status of the baby within She-Ra womb. SeaHawk sat next to her, holding her hand as another contraction came and went (and how his hand hurt afterwards!).

He-Man stood at the edge of the door and he laid his eyes upon their truest enemy. The Spirit of Evil stood in the middle of the chamber, four huge chains bound to his two large arms. His form was nothing but darkness burning in flame that gave him the horrible form of a man. His eyes were the only features He-Man could find that didn't seem to be shaped in shadow and flame. They were purely blood red, and gave He-Man a horrid understanding of just how evil and how powerful the Spirit of Evil had become.

He-Man turned to the others, who seemed to be looking to him for guidance. "He's powerful," He-Man told them. Much to his surprise, he smiled. "He's influencing every mind on Eternia, changed half the planet within minutes, fueling near a dozen wars, and threatens the entire universe. But . . . I think we can take him."

The others smiled too and Teela went over to join He-Man, the pack on her back holding the collected weapons of the Ancients. As soon as she neared him, though, She-Ra grabbed her hand.

"Teela," She-Ra told her.

"What is it?"

"Take the Sword of Protection. Use it."

"What?"

She-Ra nodded. "You can not use its full range of powers, Teela, but it is better in your hands than mine."

Teela smiled and a friendship formed in that moment. He-Man handed Teela the Sword of Protection, then turned to She-Ra.

"Good luck," he whispered into his sister's ear.

"You too."

He kissed her sweaty and strained brow, and then turned to the door with Teela at his side. "Ready?" he asked her.

"Yeah. Let's go."

He-Man grabbed hold of her and leapt down through the door. They fell to the ground, He-Man landing squarely on his feet. The Spirit of Evil took no notice of him until He-Man stepped towards the great and evil wraith.

"SPIRIT OF EVIL! I AM HE-MAN, DEFENDER OF ETERNIA AND GUARDIAN OF THE SECRETS OF CASTLE GRAYSKULL! I ORDER YOU TO RELINQUISH YOUR CONTROL!"

A loud, smoky, and grim voice was heard then. "Ha ha ha . . . Your plan failed . . . ? Where are your Ancients . . . ? Ha ha ha . . ."

"THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!"

"The Ancients . . . they did not come . . . they have abandoned you . . . ? Not surprising . . ." the horrible voice of the Spirit of Evil rasped. "You are . . . alone . . ."

He-Man defiantly shook his head. "No. Never alone. Especially not now." He raised the Sword of the Ancients. It glowed pure white and the runes were changing from red to blue up and down the blade. "I SUMMON THE ANCIENTS! Ground! Wind! Water! Fire! Strength! Thought! Heart! Population! Animals! Peoples! Ancients! Before! Phoenix! Science! Sorcery! Unity! Good! Evil! Time! Space! Intrepid! Forge! Master!"

As He-Man spoke, the Ancients flashed into existence behind. The Sword of the Ancients glowing white, He-Man smiled as he saw something that looked very much like fear in the Spirit of Evil's blood red eyes.

***

King Miro gasped.

Until Granamyr arrived, Shadow Wing had been one of their biggest concerns. But now, as Granamyr dealt the evil dragon a horrific blow that sent him into the broken sections of Eternos. When Shadow Wing fell, a strange and brief silence filled the air. Thunder then cracked, lightning struck and rain all of a sudden poured down.

Bloodlust filled everyone save the Great Rebellion, King Miro, Rokkon and Stonedar. The rain acted as a sort of rejuvenator for those in the battle under the Spirit of Evil's influence. Blood was spilled upon the mud of the fields before Eternos. Never before had any seen anything like this before.

Granamyr landed at the base of Eternos and roared, his scales dripping with the tremendous water that fell upon him. All of the other dragons roared with him, and Granamyr's great wings unfolded, lifting his huge form into the air. The dragons formed around him, and they faced the Palace.

King Hiss spun around at the sight, snake eyes growing huge. "No . . ." he muttered.

General Tartaran slashed another Rock-Solider and gazed at the event in horrid shock. At his side was Evil Lynn, who knew the implications as well. "This will be the end of Eternos and the reign of dragons will begin."

Queen Angella paused, her wings and clothes soaked in the trenching rain. "They're going to destroy the Palace!"

Behind the walls of Eternos, Mekaneck grabbed hold of Sy-Klone's shoulder. "We need to get back to the Palace!" he shouted.

"No! Forget the Palace! I'm tired of defending this place!" yelled back the blue-faced master of wind.

"Forget the Palace is right, Sy-Klone," agreed Ram-Man. "Let's save our own asses!"

The other Heroic Warriors did not move. A wave of hopelessness filled all of those at the battlefield and they fought as if to kill themselves. Death was certain . . . so certain . . .

Expect . . . one man resisted this all . . .

As Granamyr lead the other dragons towards the Palace, and all of their mouth began to produce streams of smoke . . . King Miro stood on the balcony facing them. He raised his family sword and pointed the blade right in between Granamyr's eyes.

"COME AND TAKE ME, THEN! AND I SHALL TAKE YOU WITH ME! THE KINGDOM OF MEN SHALL NOT DIE HERE!"

Granamyr charged, roaring, his mouth full of dragon flame. King Miro roared as well, voice full of defiance, sword still pointed outward. All of Eternos seemed to hold its breath as the dragons pushed through rain and the air towards the Palace and –

"HALT!"

It was a voice that King Miro had never heard before. But Granamyr had. And when blue streaks of energy came down from the heavens and struck him, the master of Darksmoke let out a mighty yelp and fell.

The other dragons scrambled. Krueger and Raven grabbed hold of Granamyr, saving him from Shadow Wing's fate. Everyone suddenly stopped fighting and watched with shock as a figure emerged from the black clouds.

Zodac.

"THIS WAR HAS ENDED! THE BALANCE MUST BE RESTORED!"

The rain suddenly stopped, and with one final belch of thunder . . . 1,000 figures appeared behind Zodac. They were dressed in the same manner as he was – although some were different colors, genders, and apparently different races. Each one wore the same kind of helmet and the same kind of armor.

"THE COSMIC ENFORCERS SHALL NO LONGER ALLOW THIS TO GO ON!"

The army of Cosmic Enforcers swept through the sky, blue beams slicing through the lines. Soldiers were separated from within Eternos all the way to the back of the army. And the Cosmic Enforcers grouped themselves around Zodac and began to turn.

A blue light shined from their spinning forms. New beams of blue light appeared and EVERYONE (from all the evil races that made war here, the Evil and Heroic Warriors, the Snake Men – all expect for those not effected by the Spirit of Evil) was pulled into the air.

Then, once all of the soldiers and all of the warriors were sorted out according to affiliation, they were placed together on the ground in huge force fields. Any injured or dead were also joined inside these force fields with the living in the hopes of getting proper burial rites and medical attention.

King Miro staggered backward, relief sweeping his body. Granamyr and his dragons were incased in a force field off the western wall. The battle here was over . . . but Eternia's fate this day was not yet sealed

***

"Strike!" shouted Master. "Strike at him!"

The elemental Ancients were first. "Eternia rejects you, wraith!" cried Ground.

Four forces struck at the Spirit of Evil. From above, Ground brought forth a full stream of dirt, mud and rock. From the left, Wind unleashed 200-mph gales. From the right, Fire unleashed a beam of flame and fire. From below, Water blasted the Spirit of Evil with wave after wave of pure water.

The Spirit of Evil struck back a bit by this, but held his ground and was able to shrug off the attack. He-Man looked at Teela, who was entranced by all this taking place before her.

Nearby, and hidden, She-Ra screamed hard. The pain was horrible. The contractions were coming closer and closer and the baby was completely effaced. It was time. SeaHawk, despite the fact that this woman could crush mountains with her pinky finger, continued to hold her hand through this as she began to push.

"You're doing fine, sweetie!" encouraged Marlena.

The Spirit of Evil released a wave of pure power. By reaching into the core of Eternia, an incredible power flared. Ground, Water, Fire, and Wind were halted in their attacks and were thrown backwards.

Unity turned to her husband, the Master. It was she who now held the Sword of the Ancients. He-Man noted some concern on her face. Four more Ancients came, then. It was Strength, Thought, Heart, and Population.

Strength was first. He leapt into the air, and when the Spirit of Evil fired power beams at him, Strength shrugged them off. Strength rammed right into the Spirit of Evil, his huge fists punching against the Spirit of Evil.

The Spirit of Evil snarled and prepared to end that Ancient right there, when Thought fired a massive psi-bolt into his mind. The Spirit of Evil wavered, mind under assault by this incredible telepath. His thoughts became a jumble.

When Heart attacked at the Spirit of Evil's black emotions, his feelings were a jumble. For a moment, a brief pang of guilt touched at him. This pang of guilt began to grow . . . into doubt. Could the Ancients actually gain the upper hand here? They were powerful, yes. Very powerful. 

But then the Spirit of Evil felt a strange care in his dark heart for those that now served under his influenced. They were a great many people . . . and now, he realized he was under attack by Population.

These four, whose faces were covered, pushed on with their attack.

Once more, She-Ra screamed. Marlena was checking the monitors (everything was still okay), while Karin checked on the baby's progress. "Okay," Marlena told She-Ra, rubbing ice on the blonde's brow. "Get ready to push, but not too hard or you'll send the baby out too fast."

She-Ra pushed, baring down properly and with just enough force. It hurt. It hurt so badly, but it was worth it . . . it had to be worth it.

"ENOUGH!" growled the Spirit of Evil. He threw up his chained arms and a great amount of energy beams sliced through the air, striking at the Ancients attacking him. He was about to attack the others and kill them all, but he was attacked first.

Magic stream spells fired from Sorcery's fingertips. They crisscrossed against the Spirit of Evil's body, sending him into spasms. The Spirit of Evil fired at Sorcery, but it was blocked by a force field. As the Spirit of Evil attacked, so did Science.

Science unleashed a barrage of static electricity streaks and laser blasts. They collided in combination with Sorcery's magic. The Spirit of Evil groaned in anger and pain. He waved his hands about, causing the ground to shake. Science and Sorcery fell and were struck by a flaming blast from the Spirit of Evil.

It was then, as the others prepared their assault, that He-Man noticed something. After each attack, the Spirit of Evil not only seemed weaker, but also thinner and shorter. It was almost as if the Ancients were diluting him.

The next Ancients came against the Spirit of Evil.

Tears were pouring from She-Ra's beautiful blue eyes, and her face was red with strain. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven! Okay, sweetie, stop pushing!"

She-Ra let out a terrible sigh as the baby stopped moving temporarily. SeaHawk kissed her cheek and ran his fingers against her matted, sweat-drenched hair. "You're doing fine, She-Ra. You're doing fine."

"It hurts," she uttered with pain in her voice.

Back in the battle, the Ancients representing the Life forms of Eternia confronted the Spirit of Evil. "All of Eternia stands against you, wraith of darkness!" shouted Peoples.

"You will not survive this day!" followed-up Before.

"You have corrupted this world far too much!" continued Ancient.

"And it ends now!" concluded Animals.

The four of them outstretched their arms and light came from their bodies. He-Man and Teela stood in wonder at what happened. Pouring from forms, were ghost-like visages stampeding towards in a silent and swift march against the Spirit of Evil.

From Animals came tigers, eagles, worms, sea creatures and countless and endless beasts that were too numerous to name here.

From Ancients came nothing but a pure white beam, and that surprised He-Man most of all.

From Before came a plethora of races that none had seen in an age. Among them were dinosaurs, Snake-Men, and Dwarfs. 

From Peoples came Men, Avions, Insectoids, Dragons, Cats, Bears, Widgets, Aqua-People, Elves, Ogres, Belats, Torks, Bats, Kobloids, Ilkorts, Rock-People, Orcs, Goblins, Mer-People, and even some that He-Man wasn't aware of.

They struck at the Spirit of Evil and he began to writhe in pain. His body lost some of its consistency and power and all could see that this was the attack that would weaken him the most. The chamber shook as the chain attached at his arms waved up and down.

"I will not fall to this!" cried the Spirit of Evil.

She-Ra pushed once more, and Marlena smiled and gripped her hand as that contraction came to an end. "It's almost over! He's crowning! Procrustus is crowning! It's almost over!"

"My baby . . ." whispered She-Ra. "You can see the head?"

"Yes, now get ready honey! The next one is coming!"

"Get ready to push once more, She-Ra! This will be it!" Karin said from where she could see the baby's head.

She-Ra nodded and prepared herself for what was about to come.

The Spirit of Evil send another one of his waves outward and all four of the Ancients that commenced their attack were down, their ghost-like manifestations that they represented gone. But the Ancients saw this and knew how it would end.

The Spirit of Evil suddenly felt very disoriented and very much displaced. Despite that he was still in the same place, a strange feeling of . . . him not belonging occurred to him. He looked and saw Time and Space working their powers on him.

"Good work, old man," Space told Time.

"Quite the same to you," Time replied, checking his pocket watch.

The Spirit of Evil lurched forward, but as portals appeared all around him, he stopped – he was trapped. Intrepid stood behind Time and Space, grinning as he held the portals in place.

"Foolishness . . ."

"Is it?" asked Forge then. He leapt up and slammed his huge hammer against the Spirit of Evil. 

And then came Good and Evil. The pair put on the Masks of Power and grew to become adults. They reached out towards the Spirit of Evil, fingers pointing in opposite directions. A sudden tearing and pulling came to the Spirit of Evil and he groaned in tremendous agony.

And then . . . Master stood against him, the Book of Spells open in his hands. "NOW!" he shouted.

The Ancients came against the Spirit of Evil then – at last and all of them save Unity and LifeDeath.

His physical body came under attack from Forge, Strength, Water, Wind, Fire, Ground, Science and Sorcery. Ancients, Before, Peoples, Animals, Thought, Population, and Heart struck his mind. Good, Evil, Time, Space, and Intrepid assaulted his very essence. And Master blasted all three of these things.

She-Ra heaved and pushed one last time, and the baby came out. She gasped and sighed, her head falling back onto the pillows. The baby Procrustus began to cry as he entered the world and She-Ra cried as well.

"Let me see it," She-Ra told them, laughing and crying as the four-armed baby was held up.

"Hold on," Marlena replied. "We need to cut the cord."

"Here," Unity said, stepping forward, the Sword of the Ancients in her hand. She swiped the great blade across the cord. "We need him."

She-Ra lower lip jutted and she began to weep. "But . . ."

LifeDeath, who was at Unity's side, frowned. "I'm sorry. But this is the way it is."

She-Ra cried as LifeDeath and Unity walked through the door and floated down to the battle. "I hated doing that," muttered Unity, the Sword of the Ancients on her back, and Procrustus in her arms.

"I know."

They landed next to He-Man and Teela, who held onto the Swords of Power and Protection, respectively. Unity looked to them both.

"Is she . . . ?"

"She-Ra's okay," LifeDeath replied. Unity handed her the baby. "The Spirit of Evil is weakened, but not dead yet. There is still one blow that must be dealt and none of the Ancients gave it."

"What's that?"

"The opposite of evil is good. The opposite of hate is love," Unity said-sang.

"You two must plunge into the heart of the Spirit of Evil, wielding the Swords of Grayskull. Your purity and goodness will be enough to blast him apart."

He-Man and Teela looked at each other, and nodded. "Let's go."

The two ran forward, the Spirit of Evil thrashing about under the weight of all the Ancients. He-Man and Teela ran towards the great enemy, each one holding a sword of Grayskull. As they passed the Ancients, each one stopped their attack. One-by-one, as He-Man and Teela ran by, stopped their power from channeling outward.

He-Man and Teela then leapt, one hand on their swords, their other hands holding the other, interlocked fingers. Together, they entered into the Spirit of Evil. And within . . .

_And within, they were confronted with the heart of evil and despair. It thundered around them, a blaze of fires and shadows, a death stank of hatred and blackness. But as He-Man and Teela were suddenly brightened against it. For they had love in their hearts. Love . . . for each other._

The Swords of Power and Protection flared in strength against the Spirit of Evil. The darkness was ripped away and all the evil diminished.

As great power was thrown against like waves, all was stripped away. Teela saw within He-Man, the force that drove. She saw Prince Adam and He-Man at once and in the same person. They kissed and the love exploded from their bodies.

Neither would ever remember this moment.

They passed outside of the Spirit of Evil, then . . . 

They passed outside of the Spirit of Evil, then landed on the ground. They were still holding hands, as well as the swords. They fell gently to the ground, and fell asleep holding hands.

Above, the Spirit of Evil roared in the terrible throes of death and destruction. His chest was breaking apart and his whole body seemed to shatter. LifeDeath ran forward, holding Procrustus in her arms.

"I am the representative of life and death on Eternia . . ." she exclaimed. 

From above, She-Ra, Malik, Karin, Marlena, Battle-Cat, Swift-Wind, and SeaHawk watched as she charged towards the dying Spirit of Evil. The Ancients were chanting, using their powers against the Spirit of Evil as he entered into the final stage of his dark life.

LifeDeath was a sight to see. She was glowing white, but was also leaving behind a trail of smoke and cloud. She leapt up, still holding the baby, and struck right into the Spirit of Evil. She-Ra gasped.

Everything went silent. The Spirit of Evil went stock-still.

Then . . . the Spirit of Evil let out a tremendous roar. All of the flames and shadow that composed of his body swirled and imploded . . . and then exploded! In an incredible flash of power and light, the Spirit of Evil was blown away in every direction.

The cold flames moved outward, then faded. The shadows vanished, dashed away.

In his place was LifeDeath. She smiled.

All around her, then, was a light of incredible power. It moved and shaped itself above them all. There was a burst of energy and took a form of a giant made of rock. Four giant arms were locked into the chains. Eternia was secured in the chained grasp of Procrustus.

A brilliant light fumed and filled the entire chamber . . .

***

She-Ra, Malik, Karin, Battle-Cat, Swift-Wind, Marlena, SeaHawk, He-Man and Teela all suddenly appeared at the docks they had met at when the quest first began.

"What's going on?" asked Teela. "The last thing I remember was leaping into the Spirit of Evil."

"He was defeated," Marlena told both Teela and He-Man.

"LOOK!" cried SeaHawk, pointing up. "LOOK AT THAT!"

A visage of the Ancients stood high into the air, passed the black clouds that overcame the former Light Hemisphere. They stood along the longitude of the planet where the separation line of the Dark and Light Hemispheres once was. They stood as ghost-like giants, each one large so that they circled the planet.

Each Ancient stood back-to-back with another visage of themselves, as if they had their backs to a mirror. One visage was facing the Dark Hemisphere, the other facing the former Light Hemisphere.

There were very few on Eternia who didn't see this. It would be talked about for ages to come.

And then, standing stock-still, the Ancients (both visages) pointed forward. The ones facing east pointed east, the ones facing west pointed west. A sudden rush of light flashed from the ground between the mirrored visages and went upward. Then, as the Ancients continued to point, the black clouds rolled back. The afternoon sun shined down.

Dark and evil thoughts that had occupied the citizens of Eternia were dashed away. The second Dark Hemisphere was transformed then and became, once more, the Light Hemisphere.

The Ancients then faded away.

"We did it," He-Man said then, and turned to the others. "WE DID IT! WE DID IT! YES! YES!"

The others smiled – even She-Ra, who was still crying.

"I can't believe we did this!" shouted Teela.

There was smiling and laughing. "We did it!" SeaHawk laughed.

"WE WON!" He-Man shouted with his tremendous lungs.

He-Man turned around, surprised to find the Wind-Raider that he had left behind sitting with them. With it was the Air Chariot.

Marlena gave She-Ra a hug, then stood up and faced He-Man. "Okay," she said, calming their moods. "Okay. We need to get home."


	6. The Forces of Good, Evil, Life, and Deat...

Chapter Six

"Forces of Good, Evil, Life and Death"

As they crossed over from the Evergreen Forest and into the Fertile Plains, the group began to notice armies marching across the lands – most of which were heading east from Eternos and the newly restored Light Hemisphere. These armies looked like they had once been heavily armed, but were beaten and battered, now carrying their dead and injured with them during their journeys.

Each army moved on their own, despite their proximity to each other. From what they could tell, it didn't seem like they wanted to stay in one place for long, though they didn't seem to be moving very fast. That didn't make a lot of sense to them, but the group had no other choice but to shrug it off.

There were some very jumbled reports coming in on the radio, and there was a lot of overlap in the communications. He-Man had informed them of what he knew. There had been a huge army that went against Eternos, and he assumed that that's what they had seen the remains of heading to the Dark Hemisphere. There was hope with that. However, there were also wars to the north between the Cats and the Bears; the Tree-People and the Cave-People; and the Avions and Insectoids. There was also a conflict between the Golden Isles and the Aquaticans.

These were facts, pure and simple.

What was coming through on the radio was still unclear. There was mention of Granamyr, King Hiss, King Randor, the Great Rebellion, Darksmoke, Shadow Wing, and many other names.

He-Man sighed heavily as he rode on Swift-Wind's back. It was frustrating, hearing all this and not being certain as to what really happened. Teela was next to him, on the Air Chariot, listening in on the jumbled information that they were hearing. The Wind-Raider, which contained Queen Marlena, She-Ra, SeaHawk, and Battle-Cat, stayed a bit behind the others in the journey back to Eternos. Malik and Karin separated awhile ago, heading back to Stone Mountain to rebuild their home – leaving the others to return to their own home.

At twenty miles, huge pillars of smoke were seen coming from the direction of Eternos. At ten miles, it was obvious where it was coming from. At five miles, jaws dropped at the sight.

The fields that surrounded the city were blood-soaked and muddy – the grassed ripped up by thousands of boot steps. The city itself was in shambles, with big, gray pillars of smoke fuming upwards from the shattered portions behind the wall.

Everyone in the party went silent as soon as they saw it. Huge sections of Eternos were reduced to rubble – especially on the lower two levels. The upper levels, though, were scourged with flames and were the origin points of the smoke. The gates were smashed in, nothing more than scattered and shattered debris.

He-Man glanced at his mother and nodded. Queen Marlena picked up her radio and entered the royal arrival code.

"This is Queen Marlena arriving Eternos with He-Man, She-Ra, Captain Teela, Captain SeaHawk, Battle-Cat, and Swift-Wind. We are requesting entrance to the main docking pad."

There was a brief silence, followed by a somber response. "This is Eternos, your highness. The main docking pads are out of commission. Please proceed to docking pad four."

Marlena acknowledged and He-Man, Teela, Swift-Wind, and the Air Chariot followed the Wind-Raider to the docking pad. As soon as they did, Marlena, He-Man and Teela made for the entrance. SeaHawk helped She-Ra out of the Wind-Raider and Battle-Cat and Swift-Wind lingered behind.

As soon they all entered the Palace, a young aide met them. He had a bruise on his left cheek and part of his uniform was torn. "You're all asked to go to the throne room to join the others," the aide told them.

Marlena nodded and the others followed her up there. When they arrived, He-Man stood in surprise as to who he saw up there.

"Miro?"

"He-Man, Marlena, good to see you again. The rest of you – thank the Ancients, eh?"

With King Miro were Man-At-Arms, King Randor, King Stephan, Queen Johanna, Queen Angella, and Zodac.

Randor looked shamefully at Marlena, but said nothing. They all looked terrible, save Zodac who didn't display any emotion at all.

"You did it," exclaimed Angella, trying to smile.

"Yes," He-Man replied emotionlessly. "We did."

Marlena turned to She-Ra. "SeaHawk, get She-Ra down the infirmary wing. Get her checked out, then bring her to one of the royal bedrooms. Adam's or Adora's – it doesn't matter. She needs to rest."

She-Ra nodded and squeezed Marlena's hand. SeaHawk and She-Ra then walked out of the throne room and into the main corridor.

"Father," Teela began, stepping up, "what happened here?"

Man-At-Arms gestured to a nearby table and the whole group sat down. "King Miro debriefed us on what you already know. And we saw the visages of the Ancients, so we can only assume that the Light Hemisphere has been restored."

"Yes," He-Man answered.

Man-At-Arms nodded. "Skeletor launched his army against Eternos in full strength. At the same time, apparently, the Spirit of Evil pushed Queen Johanna, King Stephan, and myself into betraying King Randor. Luckily, King Miro arrived just in time and took command of the kingdom just as the battle began."

Miro picked it up from there. "The battle was pretty nasty. Took some hits, though we held out longer than we ever would have because the Spirit of Evil was working the troops the way it did. By the time Skeletor came after us, Rokkon and Stonedar arrived with a force field device from Zodac. It kept the enemies away for a while."

"At some point during that time," Man-At-Arms now continued, "King Hiss turned against Skeletor. Skeletor was then delivered to Hordak and hasn't been seen since."

"Are you serious?" questioned He-Man.

"Deadly," Man-At-Arms remarked. "In exchange, Hiss was given a device that helped destroy the force field. It fell and . . . King Miro?"

Miro nodded. "That's when we got hit even harder. Ol' Hiss was a lot more aggressive than Skeletor. He struck hard, smashing through the Second Gate and getting inside. The Heroic Warriors did their best, and then . . ." He paused. "And then Granamyr brought some Trolls and dragons from Darksmoke and was looking to take Eternos for himself. It got ugly then, because some of the army attacking us went against King Hiss. It just went to chaos after that. The Great Rebellion showed up at one point and from there . . . yeah. Zodac here showed up and took care of things with the rest of his Cosmic Enforcers."

"We separated the affiliations and kept them there. After the Light Hemisphere was restored, everything changed," Zodac explained. "We detected a sudden and very incredible loss in aggression overall. We released the armies and they all made their back to the Dark Hemisphere. Granamyr and his dragons were the first to leave, with his Trolls in tow."

"Any casualties?" asked Marlena.

"Many," Randor replied, the first words exchanged since he beat her.

"The Heroic Warriors?" wondered He-Man, not wanting the tension in the air.

"Some are injured. Stratos and Buzz-Off went to Avion and Insectia to sort out what happened," Randor answered. "Moss Man left as soon as they realized what they did. The others are out in the city, helping in recovery and reconstruction efforts."

"Reconstruction," snorted Stephan. "Already."

"We need to move fast, Stephan," Johanna chided gently. "This was one of the worst things to happen to Eternia since the Horde War."

"We've got scouts moving to the other kingdoms, trying assess what happened," Randor told Marlena, Teela, and He-Man. "I talked briefly with Stratos and Buzz-Off before they left and they agree that there needs to be a summit to come up with a new set of peace treaties. What happened . . . it's horrid."

"We need to move on, Randor," Marlena said, and those that knew what happened wondered if there was deeper meaning to that.

"What about the Great Towers?" asked He-Man.

Miro smiled a little. "Your court jester. Orko. We got a message from him about an hour ago saying that after the Light Hemisphere was restored, he went to the Great Towers found it swarming with Skeletor's robotic sentries. He, Rokkon and Stonedar have secured it."

"What about Adam and Adora?" asked Randor.

"They're on Etheria at a secure location," Angella replied.

He-Man stood up. "Teela and I should be outside," he said. "There are people down there that need our help."

"Agreed," Randor said. "Dismissed."

"I will aid you, He-Man," Zodac said, following.

Everyone stood up and the room emptied – all save Queen Marlena and King Randor. Randor grunted and walked towards the balcony.

"I . . . Lubic is okay. I gave him a beating, but it was . . ." he trailed off, then stopped. He turned his back to her. "He's in the infirmary and he'll make a full recovery. Whether or not he'll be joining us after he recovers is a . . ."

Marlena nodded. "Okay."

She stepped forward, frowning. Randor grunted again. She bit her lower lip and put her hand on his large shoulder. Randor turned around, and Marlena sighed heavily at what she saw. Tears were forming Randor's eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whimpered, and fell to his knees. "I'm sorry, Marlena. I don't deserve your love nor your forgiveness after what happened."

Marlena dropped to her knees and grabbed his hand. "It wasn't your fault. I forgive you."

He fell against her and started to sob. She held him and began to cry as well. "I love you," he told her, holding her tight.

"I love you, too."

***

The Heroic Warriors worked quietly for hours and when He-Man caught up with them, they perked up a little bit.

"I can't what happened," Mekaneck said. "This was . . . this was a mess."

Sy-Klone nodded. "The best thing for the both of us now is to work on repairing the damage. I forgot to ask, my friend, how is Phillip?"

Mekaneck frowned a little. "He's okay, I guess. He was hunkered down in the vaults during the battle. He's helping out in the Palace right now."

"It wasn't our fault," said Ram-Man all of a sudden. "Not totally, at least."

The pair made no response and just continued to clear the debris. Ram-Man frowned and walked off.

***

At Snake Mountain, King Hiss joined Evil Lynn in the throne room with the others. "Skeletor is gone," Hiss announced. "And he will not return."

Evil Lynn tilted her hips. "What are you doing here, Hiss?" As she recalled, she asked him that same question right before all this started.

Hiss snarled a little. "I've come to reclaim Snake Mountain!"

The Evil Warriors that gathered around Evil Lynn began to laugh. "Really?" asked Evil Lynn with a taunting smile. "Despite the fact that I have the superior numbers? Bare in mind that we even have hundreds of Skull Warriors and Centurions walking these corridors that are now under my control."

"Get to your point, Evil Lynn!"

"You're homeless. You've been expelled from the Great Towers. You stopped there on your way here, and found it crawling with Royal Soldiers, plus a few Heroic Warriors. You need a place now. Not just a headquarters, but someplace secure and to call home. And you want it to be here. Especially since Skeletor's no longer here. Well, I'm not Skeletor and his 'capture' by Hordak (orchestrated by you, might I add) has given me . . . a promotion, of sorts. So, how about an alliance?"

"An alliance?"

Evil Lynn nodded. "An alliance."

King Hiss took a breath. "An alliance, then. We shall take the lower chambers, if that is permissible."

Evil Lynn gestured towards the tunnel leading there. "Of course."

King Hiss down the tunnel, followed by his Snake-Men. 

The other Evil Warriors went their separate ways. Evil Lynn did so as well, but stopped when she went to the corridor containing the doors to the quarters. She paused in front of hers, then went down two doors and knocked.

Tri-Klops answered the door.

"Evil Lynn?" asked Tri-Klops. "What is it?"

"Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

Evil Lynn looked harshly at the triple-sighted villain. "You know what I'm talking about."

Tri-Klops leaned against the doorframe and smirked. "I thought we were going to die. I felt impulsive. I get impulsive when I'm in that sort of situation."

"A situation when you're about to die?"

"Yes."

Evil Lynn nodded in understanding, then reached over and kissed him deeply on the lips. When they broke, she smiled. "I get impulsive when I'm in this sort of situation."

"What kind of situation is this?" wondered Tri-Klops.

"A situation when I know I'm going to live."

They began to kiss again, more passionately this time. They moved into Tri-Klops' quarters, the door shutting and locking behind them . . .

***

The twilight hours passed by, and the night came. It was clear and remarkable night, the moons high in the late spring sky – settled in with the vast array of stars. He-Man sat alone on one of the large stones within the walls of the city, gazing up at the beautiful sky. Most of the work was on hold for the night – everyone was so tired from the events of the day and the ones leading up to it.

"He-Man," came a soft and sweet voice. He-Man looked over and saw She-Ra making her way over. He smiled and patted the stone she sat down.

"You're supposed to be resting," he told her.

"I can't sleep," she replied. He frowned. She had been crying, but whatever it was about, he would let her bring it up. "What are you doing out here?"

"Thinking," he returned, and looked back up at the stairs.

"About what?"

"Skeletor, of all people. I keep wondering what's happening to him now that he's a prisoner of Hordak."

She-Ra frowned. "Public execution, most likely. When I was a kid, Hordak used to talk about a great betrayal when he was on Eternia. It wasn't until I met you when I realized who it was that betrayed him. He hates Skeletor, He-Man. Far more than anyone here on Eternia or Etheria."

He-Man nodded. "Probably."

There was a brief pause, and then She-Ra began to cry again.

"What is it?" asked He-Man, putting his hand on his sister's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "It's stupid, Adam. It's so stupid . . ."

"Procrustus?"

She-Ra produced a tissue and dotted her tears. "I kept telling myself 'It's just a surrogate. He's not yours.' But then, when he saved my life and when we were attacked by Locus, and all that time he spent inside me, kicking, living off me . . . it was . . . I love him, I love like he was my own child . . ."

She began to sob. He reached over and held her for a while, rocking his twin as she bawled her eyes out against him. After a few minutes, she pulled away and began to calm down. 

"We're leaving tonight for Etheria. I'm going to spend some private time in the Crystal Castle. Tell Mother and Father that Adora is on a secret mission or something. I need to lose some of this baby fat before Adora can make a reappearance. Keep in touch, okay?"

He-Man nodded. "Of course. Let me know if you need anything."

"I will."

They hugged and She-Ra walked off, back towards the Palace to meet with the Great Rebellion. He-Man sat there and brooded for awhile, adding another thing to worry about. At least his parents had worked things out.

It wasn't long until Teela came over. "Hey."

"Hey. Have a seat."

"I saw She-Ra. Is she okay?"

He-Man shrugged. "Sorta. She's heading back to Etheria tonight. She'll be helping Adora with a secret mission or something."

"Don't tell me – they're going to rescue Skeletor?" asked Teela with a bit of a laugh. He-Man smiled a little, but didn't laugh out loud. "I think she's got a case of post-partum or something."

He-Man looked over at her. "Huh?"

"Yeah. She told me she was upset over what happened with Procrustus."

He-Man perked an eyebrow. "Oh? She told you that?"

"Yeah. He-Man, we're like, good friends now. We're tight."

He couldn't believe his ears. "You're . . .you're joking, right?'

"Nope."

"Wow. Huh."

Teela smiled a little. "What?"

He-Man smiled widely at her, then looked back up at the stars. "Will wonders ever cease?"

At that moment, two figures came walking towards them, speaking in heavy but hushed tones. Teela and He-Man immediately identified them as the Master and Zodac.

". . . the test is still inconclusive," Zodac told Master.

"Perhaps, but you must be aware that the Ancients are - "

The conversation ceased as soon as they reached He-Man and Teela. Once they did, He-Man and Teela were on their feet and stood before these two mighty beings. 

"I'm surprised to see you here," He-Man confessed to Master. Only for a moment could he remember a book, but the memory seemed was fading a little more with each passing minute.

Master nodded easily. "There are still a few matters to attend to. I wanted to thank you. Both. Not just for your incredible assistance against the Spirit of Evil, but also for helping to gather my family once again."

"Where are the others?" questioned Teela.

Zodac glanced at Master, who only shook his head dismissively. "Don't worry about them, Teela. They're . . . around. In the meantime, I have something to return to you."

Master pulled out the Sword of the Ancients and handed it her. Teela gasped as the hilt was presented to her hands. "Are you sure? I mean . . . ?"

"It's your weapon to have, Teela, daughter of Duncan. When the time comes for you to no longer claim as yours, it will happen. Until then, the Sword of the Ancients is best used in your hands."

She bowed graciously. "Thank you, Master of the Ancients."

"He-Man," Master then addressed. "The Son always Rises upon the Road of his Destiny. And that on that Road, it is never alone."

Though cryptic as it was, it still brought a smile to He-Man's face. "Thank you."

"Where are you going now, Master?" wondered Teela.

Master looked up at those beautiful stars. "Somewhere . . . out there . . ." he said in a sing-song voice. "Good journey."

Master began to fade away, leaving Eternia. 

Zodac took a breath and turned to the pair.

"I'm not sure when we shall see him again. Perhaps again, perhaps never. I must be going as well. There are many matters to attend to."

Zodac walked passed them. Teela let out a long sigh and perked an eyebrow.

"You do know we just had a conversation with two of the most powerful people in the known universe, right?"

"Yes."

"And they were quite happy to talk to us, right?"

"Yes."

"Are you as amazed as I am?"

"Yes."

The two sat down once more and He-Man put an arm around her shoulders. The first steps of lifting up from this conflict had been taken. But there were many more roads to travel before it could be properly settled. And He-Man knew . . . he would never be alone on that road.


	7. Epilogue and Afterword

Epilogue

The day was hot and humid right from the start. As the sun dawned, most of the Heroic Warriors rolled out of the beds from a sleepless night and went to work. Reconstruction, recovery, and relief were the themes of the day. The work was hard and laborious. But each and every Heroic Warrior liked it that way.

For them, it was like a chance for redemption.

His father sent out Prince Adam after 'returning' last night with Cringer. His task was to assess the work force, and then report back at noon. Adam, though, had it done by ten. With the job finished, Adam sought out someone he would be glad to see.

"Teela!" he shouted.

Teela, who was talking with some of the soldiers, turned around and smiled at him. She dismissed the soldiers and rushed over. The two hugged.

"Good to see you're still alive," she said.

"Yeah, you too. What are you doing?"

"I was just finishing up briefing the security details to some of the new recruits. Had to bump them up in the ranks. What about you?"

"Just finished this report for my father, then I'm heading off to the Great Towers this afternoon. We need to establish a power base immediately."

Teela nodded and the pair began to walk back to the Palace. "So, you're not sticking around?"

"Not for long, no. Sorry," he apologized. "But, I just remembered something."

"Oh? What's that?"

"I never did take you out to dinner, my dear."

Teela laughed, and hooked her arm around his. "No, you didn't. But how about late breakfast in the Mess Hall?"

"Sounds great!"

After dropping off the reports to Randor and Man-At-Arms, Teela and Adam entered the Mess Hall. The two sat down at a table and ate some flapjacks. Adam looked up at her as they began to eat and smiled widely.

"So . . . tell me how you and He-Man saved the world?"

Teela grinned. "Okay. Well, it all started with this prophecy . . ."

"Uh-huh."

Teela paused and stared at Prince Adam for a long moment, remembering just how good it felt just to be with him again. "And then, well, it all started to change . . ."

***

The Sorceress emerged from one of the studies within Castle Grayskull and walked into the throne room. She smiled at the fact that there were no prophecies or warnings or other such things that kicked all this off. The danger had passed and, at least for the foreseeable future, there would be none to come.

Sorceress walked along the musty and ancient corridors, then, taking in the events that transpired over the past few days. This time of prophecy and change was over, and the darkness was gone. Scars were left, and there were things here that could never be forgotten. But these things were heal and life would return to normal as long one held to hope.

The Sorceress reached her perch upon the highest tower of Castle Grayskull. She looked out and surveyed the lands beyond this mighty fortress and she smiled. With the noon sun reaching its apex, she spoke aloud.

"Twelve o'clock," she said. "All's well."

AFTERWORD

Now, I know what you're all saying right about now. 

"'All's well?' All is not well! The Heroic Warriors are recovering from those big traumatic events like slaughtering lots of bad guys and violently beating the Great Rebellion! And poor She-Ra – she has angst! Plus Marlena and Randor are sure to have issues to work out! Not to mention the fact that you totally devastated the entire planet! Oh – and there are those BAD GUYS to deal with? Skeletor a prisoner of the Horde and all we got was a paragraph or two?! Oh yeah, there's also the fact that you now have Evil Lynn and Tri-Klops together, I mean, come on WTF?!? All is not well, I declare! All is not well."  
You could be right, but I have a good enough rebuttal. The story isn't over yet. That is to say that, indeed, there will be a sequel to "Prophecy & Change," and it will be called "Just Another Day." It'll serve up the task of bringing a lot of the aforementioned plot threads forward and addressing just how one moves on with their life after facing such things.

And then what?

More. There will be more.

You see, not long after I decided to write a "The Crossroads of Destiny" sequel, I started to come up with ideas for a whole series. Dubbed the "Destiny" series, it will carry the MOTU saga from "The Secret of the Sword," where we first met She-Ra and Hordak all the way to the first episodes of "The New Adventures of He-Man" (the first episode's name I forget right now). I won't say any more for fear of spoiling the stories that will arise, but just know that the saga is not over. Not be a long shot.

So . . . what exactly can you expect from "Just Another Day?" Well, it's going to be a change from the very dark and grim story that "Prophecy & Change" was, and you'll find a lot more attention given to the secondary characters. Not just heroes, either, because the secondary villains will be getting their moments in the sun. But not to worry, though, because you'll also get your fair share of He-Man, She-Ra, Teela, and the other mainstays.

I'm not quite sure when you'll be getting "Just Another Day." I've neglected "Preludes and Beginnings" and I want to sit down and concentrate on that for a while before I wrestle with "JAD." I also need to pound out the last few details of "JAD" before getting a move on it. Expect it soon – just in time for spring! (Yay!)

As I close here, and begin the next portion of this saga, I'd like to thank all those that took the time to read and review both this and "The Crossroads of Destiny." While "CROD" did give me some trouble at times, "P&C" was a very hard fic for me to write. Special thanks goes out to Fusion Blaster and PrincessAdora, who both beta-read for me and helped through those tough times. Thanks also goes out to my dearest Tricia, who even though she is quite neutral when it comes to He-Man, supported me through the tough times of this story.

Thank you one and all! See you next time!

Thew40


End file.
